Warriors closing in on NBA record for home winning streak

Updated 7:42 pm, Sunday, February 28, 2016

Stephen Curry (30), of the Golden State Warriors greets fans as he walks back to the locker room after defeating the Indiana Pacers, at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on Friday, January 22, 2016.

Stephen Curry (30), of the Golden State Warriors greets fans as he walks back to the locker room after defeating the Indiana Pacers, at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on Friday, January 22, 2016.

Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle

Warriors closing in on NBA record for home winning streak

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When Steve Kerr accepted the Warriors’ head-coaching job in May 2014, one of the first things he demanded of his players was to start assuming an air of dominance on their home court.

Kerr won five championships as a player, and those Bulls and Spurs title-winning teams combined to go 169-20 (.894) at home during the regular season. He didn’t put an exact number on the Warriors’ goal, but he made sure the players recognized the link between home dominance and championships.

“I didn’t anticipate anything like this,” Kerr said before the Warriors returned home to play 17 of their final 24 regular-season games at Oracle Arena. “I just wanted us to be cognizant of the importance of dominating your home floor. If you’re a great team, you have to dominate your home floor, so I’m proud of our guys that they’ve done that.”

The Warriors are 63-2 (.969) at home in the regular season under Kerr. Including the postseason, the record is 72-4 (.947).

They went 39-2 at home during the 2014-15 regular season, winning the final 18. They’ve started this season 24-0, doubling the franchise’s best-ever home start of 12-0 set in 1975-76.

It all adds up to the NBA’s second-longest regular-season home winning streak, two victories from tying the Bulls, who won 44 straight from March 30, 1995, to April 4, 1996. The Warriors haven’t lost at home since a 113-111 overtime squeaker to Chicago on Jan. 27, 2015.

“Our crowd is great, we’ve got a great atmosphere, and we’re comfortable,” Warriors centerAndrew Bogut said. “There are some games that we definitely should not have won, but we found ways to grind it out and steal some wins. Hopefully, we can keep it rolling.

“Eventually, it’s going to come to an end, but hopefully, it’s later rather than sooner.”

The Warriors can tie the record with victories this week against Atlanta and Oklahoma City, teams that are a combined 74-45 (622). After a road game against the Lakers, the Warriors could break the record with a victory over Orlando on March 7.

It’d be quite fitting if the Warriors broke the record against the Magic, because a matchup between the teams might have represented the arrival of the Warriors’ home dominance.

After losing two home games to Denver in 2013-14 and one apiece to Minnesota, Charlotte and New York, the Warriors found themselves trailing another struggling team Dec. 2, 2014. Orlando was up by nine points with 4:11 remaining.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson each hit two three-pointers in the final four minutes, including Curry’s winner with four seconds on the clock. The Warriors took the confidence from that game and used it to win close home games against heavy-underdog teams Boston, the Lakers and Phoenix later in the season.

This season, the Warriors have won home games by an average margin of 15.7 points, but there have been a couple of close calls. They needed overtime to beat Brooklyn on Nov. 14 and Denver on Jan. 2.

“We’re just a good team to start with, and then when you play at a place like Oracle, with crazy fans and a loud, loud atmosphere, it’s tough for opposing fans to come in and win,” Kerr said.

“The history of the NBA shows how difficult it is to win on the home floor of a great team. … We made it a goal last year at the beginning of the season to dominate our home floor. We’ve been able to do it.”

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